Case: A pregnant (20 gestational weeks) 32-year-old woman was found in cardiac arrest. Spontaneous circulation returned after 15 min. She became brain dead on the 13th hospital day. The patient was in stable circulatory condition under nasal desmopressin and 20-30 mg/day of hydrocortisone. On the 92nd hospital day at gestational week 33 + 3 days, natural labor began and a healthy 2,130-g girl (Apgar 6/8) was delivered vaginally with minimum assistance.
Outcome: The baby was discharged 40 days after birth and followed up regularly.
Conclusion: Brain death remains a hopeless condition for patients, but a brain-dead woman may still be able to naturally deliver a healthy baby.
Keywords: Brain death; delivery; ethical issue; pregnancy; somatic support.